How Food Inflation Translates Into Social Unrest
The National Inflation Association, or the NIA, is anticipating hyperinflation in the US by 2015, with a healthy dose of social upheaval alongside it. In a recently posted video, the NIA draws a parallel between the current civil unrest in Egypt and how it imagines the near future in the US. Rather than view the violence as a political issue, it points the finger at soaring food inflation, and suggests that Egypt — the world’s biggest importer of wheat — has hit higher rates of inflation than other emerging economy.
It cites a Credit Suisse survey which indicates that Egyptians spend an unusually high portion of their income on food — about 40 percent of monthly income — versus about 20% for Chinese and Saudi Arabians, and 17 percent for Brazilians.
Although US families have so far been insulated from rising food prices, it points to loose monetary policy as fanning the flames of inflation. It quotes the People’s Bank of China, “Quantitative easing policy cannot fundamentally address economic problems, and it may cause excessive liquidity on a global scale as well as risks of competitive currency depreciation.”
At this time, the NIA indicates that on average only 13% of annual US household expenditures go to food. However, it projects that by 2015, 40 percent will be spent on food. It also believes the type violence seen in Egypt will spread into the US as the dollar becomes worth less, food shortages increase, and Americans can no longer take food for granted. See the video below, from the NIA’s post on how Americans will flock into $5,000 gold and $500 silver.
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